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my adventures on a budget

September 2013 Birchbox Review!

It’s that time of month when the mailman delivers another pink box of goodies to my mailbox! This month is Birchboxs’ three year anniversary, so they are sending out a 1000 point golden ticket (worth $100 in the Birchbox Shop) to 100 lucky subscribers, old and new alike. Although I wasn’t one of these lucky winners, I did LOVE my box this month. Again I went into it blind, but here is the sneak peek video if you are interested:

I recieved Box # 45.

This month’s theme was Heritage. The card reads, “The best part about beauty? It’s not the glitter or the gloss, or even those miraculous antioxidants from far-off lands. It’s the stories. Every brand we work with, from the just-hatched to the iconic, has its own fascinating history. Just look at Ruffian, a New York-based fashion label started by two designers with a flair for Victorian drama. Their first nail lacquer collection-which all of our subscribers will get to try this month-was inspired by the runways but voted on by you. File that away for party conversation when someone compliments your mani. This also happens to be our anniversary month, and we can’t let it pass without thanking the people who have helped create our story: our members. All we had was an idea-we needed you to add the magic.”

Time to dig in!

My first sample was the Ruffian Nail Lacquer in Hedge Fund.Sample size: 0.17 FL. OZ. – $10 | Full Size: 0.17 FL. OZ. – $10
I am a nail polish junkie and have an entire little drawer system dedicated to all of my polishes, so I was SUPER excited to find a nail polish in my box this month. I was extra excited when I realized this is actually the full size product! And out of the three colors I could have gotten, this one is my favorite. Great job, Birchbox! This nail lacquer is a forest green color with golden glitter. I really enjoy this polish because the formula is pretty thick and you only need one coat to get full coverage, so this bottle will last me an eternity. I would DEFINITELY buy more of these as more colors come out!

My next sample was the Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream.Sample size: 1 FL. OZ. – $5.91 | Full size: 2.54 FL. OZ. – $15
This is actually a really nice sized sample and I am excited to use this a lot as it gets colder outside. It has a really nice fruity scent and makes my hands feel very soft. I really like that this product is affordable and I will probably be purchasing some of this if I use all of my sample before winter is over!

Next up is BCBGMAXAZRIA Perfume in Bon Genre.Sample size: 0.05 FL. OZ. – $1.10 | Full size: 3.4 FL. OZ. – $75
This perfume smells awesome, and you know how much I LOVE perfume samples! I really, really love that this sample came in a spritzer bottle so I don’t have to bother with pulling a cap off and making a mess. It has very strong jasmine notes. It is advertised to have jasmine, tiger lily, sandalwood, lychee, red berries, and golden amber. I definitely can smell the amber, jasmine and sandalwood, but the other scents are pretty mild. It smells very nice and lasts for a while. Would I buy it? No, but only because I would never use an entire 3.4 OZ bottle. But I really enjoy the sample and it is perfect for fall and winter!

The next sample was the Coastal Scents Eyeshadow Quad in Queen of Hearts.Sample size – 4 shadows – $1.77 | Full size – 88 shadows – $39
I really love this little palette sample!! I am not a huge eyeshadow fan and I usually tend to use very neutral colors if anything at all, so these pinks will blend very well with my skin. I’ve always really liked pink and red eyeshadows. There are three metallic and one matte shade and they look really nice together. I’m not sure if I would really need an 88-shadow palette, so I probably wouldn’t buy the entire thing, but it does come with three brushes, so if you really like eyeshadow, it’s a pretty good deal.

My last sample was the SARAPOTEMPA Half-Up in Brown.Sample size: 1 half-up – $9 | Full size: 1 half-up – $9
When I saw this, I was like wut. It looked huge and spongey and I wasn’t very excited about it, but I tested it out to make a bun and it’s actually pretty cool. I wear my hair in a bun everyday at the gym and work, so I will actually get a lot of use out of it and it really isn’t as puffy as it looks. I doubt I would buy another one until this one breaks or gets worn out, but it’s pretty neat and I’m excited to use it. Not to mention, it’s a good deal since it’s the actual full size product.

The last little item was a coupon code for the Birchbox Shop.

Overall, I loved my box this month and I can’t wait to try out my products a little more and give myself a mani! Thanks, Birchbox!

2 thoughts on “September 2013 Birchbox Review!”

I couldn’t decide on whether or not I wanted to and debated back and forth for months before I finally went for it haha. It was definitely worth it because I’ve loved everything I’ve gotten so far. The hair thing is a little weird and I’m trying to get better at using it.